Newswise — The University of Saskatchewan (U of S), through its Water Research Group, is one step closer to receiving a prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) worth more than $10 million over the next seven years to address sustainable freshwater resource management and assessment on a regional, national and international scale.
Today the federal government announced that the U of S has successfully passed the first of a two-phase, highly competitive process for CERC funding. The U of S research team is one of 40 groups at 17 universities selected from 132 submissions by a blue-ribbon panel to move on to the final phase of the competition.
The 17 universities will now nominate world-leading researchers for recruitment. Selection of up to 20 CERC positions will be based on the highest standards of research excellence. The universities are expected to have completed the recruitment process and be ready to announce the identity of the new chairs early in the fall of 2010.
"We are proud that this outstanding research group has made it to this point in the selection process and we are hopeful that this program will enable us to attract more talent that will build on our strengths, create rich learning opportunities for our students, and help strategically position Canada to ensure water security," said U of S Acting Vice-President Research Karen Chad.
She noted that with five Canada Research Chairs and 65 full-time faculty currently engaged in water-related research, the U of S is internationally recognized for its strengths in aquatic toxicology, hydrology and aquatic biology. As well, the U of S Toxicology Centre leads the largest and fastest growing toxicology program in Canada, and the new U of S School of Environment and Sustainability is making water resources a strategic priority.
Toxicology Centre director Karsten Liber, founder of the Water Research Group and lead author of the proposal, points out that since fresh water is critical for life and essential for economic prosperity, water scarcity and pollution threaten to create both economic and political challenges. Climate change, industrial expansion and a growing population will further impact both the quantity and quality of water on a global scale, he said.
"Within the next couple of decades, two billion people across the world " including areas of Canada " will experience serious water scarcity or inadequate water quality," he said. "As human population increases and industrial, agricultural, and municipal demands for freshwater escalate, pressures will mount on these resources and the natural ecosystems they sustain."
The CERC proposed by Liber and his colleagues aims to address both water quality and quantity issues at the watershed level, bringing to bear expertise from aquatic toxicology, hydrology, freshwater biology, engineering, and other disciplines. The initiative will strategically position the U of S to deal with water challenges nationally and internationally, and lead to changes in use, policy, management and reclamation of water, while training Canadian and international students to better ensure the world's water security.
"The overall goal of the initiative is to find sustainable solutions to the use of water in support of human needs and economic development, while still protecting ecosystem integrity. Among other unique activities, we aim to look at applications and technologies that combine ecology, toxicology and hydrology to help increase options for in-field wastewater treatment and reclamation where conventional treatment is ineffective or unrealistic due to the scope of the problem, for example, at the Canadian oil sands," Liber adds.
The Canada Excellence Research Chairs program was created by the federal government to strengthen Canada's ability to be at the leading edge of breakthroughs in priority research areas expected to generate social and economic benefits for Canadians.
For more information about the U of S water research group, visit: http://www.usask.ca/research/research-groups/water/index.php
About the Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program
"¢ The CERC Program was created to recognize that Canada's future prosperity depends on the ability to attract the highest calibre of researchers to this country, and offers eligible Canadian degree-granting institutions the opportunity to compete in the global market for research talent and establish highly remunerated research chairs at their institutions in research areas that are of strategic importance to Canada.
"¢ This prestigious program will award up to 20 chairholders and their research teams with up to $10 million over seven years to conduct research in areas of strategic importance to Canada. They are targeted at the world's top researchers to develop ambitious research programs in the four priority research areas in the Government of Canada's science and technology (S&T) strategy. For each chair, the university receives up to $1.4 million annually for seven years.
"¢ Canada Excellence Research Chair proposals were invited from a broad range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health and related sciences.
"¢ The Chairs will be identified through a highly competitive two-stage peer-reviewed process. In Phase 1, Canadian universities will compete for the opportunity to establish chairs at their institution. In Phase 2, a short list of successful universities will nominate world leaders to a limited number of CERC positions. The selection will be based on the highest standards of research excellence. Canadian universities will administer the funds.
For more information on the Canada Excellence Research Chairs program, visit www.cerc.gc.ca.
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